I tested both of my vehicles in the very slippery wind blown snow conditions this morning. It was 8 degrees at the time and will be falling to -8 or lower plus 40-50 mph winds on top of that today. Ugly!! SO that is the stage to compare both. I drove on off camber turns that would be inherently slippery, uphill, downhill, slow turns and faster turns (for what was safe based on the conditions). The purpose was to feel back to back the differences between both AWD systems, input applications of acceleration, braking, steering and overall confidence driving each in the same conditions.
Here is my report:
I drove the MDX first. In slow driving it was confidence inspiring. It barely lost traction even in the off camber stuff. The traction while I was on the gas was great and the VSA kept things in check with minimal slippage. However, when I took the same turn off the gas, I under-steered significantly and almost went head first into the snow bank in front of me. On the straights the acceleration and braking was excellent and steering feel in the snow was about as good as one could want.
Then I drove the SH on the same roads and at the same speeds and mannerisms. The MDX is very good in these conditions for sure, however the SH takes AWD to another level completely. The "on-gas" application of the traction control just can't be matched. It is almost super-human in how it adapts to micro slippage and responding immediately. The really amazing thing is how it responds when you are "off-gas" and coasting into the same off camber slippery turn when the MDX almost took a header into the snow bank. Because of how it drags the inside rear wheel in conjunction with the VSA, it simply caught itself and kept me turning with minimal slippage. Now that is awesome! Until you experience that, you haven't driven an AWD vehicle that does that to the best of my knowledge. The brake feel is an obvious difference between the two cars. The SH's brake bite is very strong where in comparison, the MDX is almost squishy. Also the acceleration in the snow is absolutely effortless in the SH which is very hard to describe. The steering feel is a little isolating in both, but a little more so in the SH in the snow. That does not make any difference to me. The hard part is restraining myself from going to fast because it has so much traction. I can only imagine what it is like with true snow tires in the same conditions. It must be crazy.
Here is my report:
I drove the MDX first. In slow driving it was confidence inspiring. It barely lost traction even in the off camber stuff. The traction while I was on the gas was great and the VSA kept things in check with minimal slippage. However, when I took the same turn off the gas, I under-steered significantly and almost went head first into the snow bank in front of me. On the straights the acceleration and braking was excellent and steering feel in the snow was about as good as one could want.
Then I drove the SH on the same roads and at the same speeds and mannerisms. The MDX is very good in these conditions for sure, however the SH takes AWD to another level completely. The "on-gas" application of the traction control just can't be matched. It is almost super-human in how it adapts to micro slippage and responding immediately. The really amazing thing is how it responds when you are "off-gas" and coasting into the same off camber slippery turn when the MDX almost took a header into the snow bank. Because of how it drags the inside rear wheel in conjunction with the VSA, it simply caught itself and kept me turning with minimal slippage. Now that is awesome! Until you experience that, you haven't driven an AWD vehicle that does that to the best of my knowledge. The brake feel is an obvious difference between the two cars. The SH's brake bite is very strong where in comparison, the MDX is almost squishy. Also the acceleration in the snow is absolutely effortless in the SH which is very hard to describe. The steering feel is a little isolating in both, but a little more so in the SH in the snow. That does not make any difference to me. The hard part is restraining myself from going to fast because it has so much traction. I can only imagine what it is like with true snow tires in the same conditions. It must be crazy.